8 Ways to Ensure You Hire the Best Candidate

In today’s economy, there is no shortage of candidates for just about any position and it would appear that employers can find the best candidate for the job in no time.

However, it is not as simple as it looks. There is always the possibility that you will end hiring the wrong person, which can trigger a whole series of negative consequences. The wrong person can turn out to be lazy and unmotivated, unqualified, or they can influence the atmosphere in the workplace (in a bad way!).

You spend time training them, and then you wind up looking for another candidate and trying to get them to fit in, which will cost your company a lot of money.

An impressive list of qualifications and extensive work experience are certainly necessary, but these are not the only things you should factor in when recruiting potential employees. Making sure that they are also in tune with the culture of your organization and its goals is also crucial.

Here are 8 ways you can improve your recruitment process and hire the best candidate every time.

1. Look for a career-oriented person

One of the more subtle aspects you need to consider when hiring a new employee is their commitment towards developing their own career and growing as a professional. If you have a candidate who is trying to juggle multiple careers, or who has been quick to jump ship and work for several companies in the past without decent tenure (or without valid reasons), then maybe you shouldn’t hire them.

You want an employee who is going to be loyal to the company, and who will view your job as an opportunity to advance their career and be an asset to the company at the same time. If their job history is checkered, you should proceed to look at other candidates.

2. Assess for practical experience

Ideally, you should hire a candidate who is both qualified and experienced in your line of work. However, more often than not, you will not come across a perfect candidate. Focusing on the practical experience of your potential employee is key because they will be able to integrate themselves more quickly and become familiar with the job.

You also save time and money when it comes to their training. If a candidate doesn’t have the required practical experience you are looking for, they will need more time to fit in and learn all the nuances of the job. Of course, every new employee needs to go through an adjustment period, but you want to keep that period as short as possible.

3. Test your candidates

One of the ways you can improve your recruitment process would be to implement various methodologies that can provide you with a much clearer picture as far as learning abilities and analytical skills of the candidate are concerned. It goes deeper than looking at a person’s resume and making a decision based on that alone.

Even if their resume is impressive, and they come off as confident during the interview, it is up to you as an employer to test potential employees, because they might not have been completely truthful on their resume. Also, you will gain a better insight into how resourceful they are when presented with a new challenge.

4. Determine strengths needed for the position

Let’s face it, most jobs nowadays are stressful to a certain extent. If you run an IT company, for instance, you should also look for candidates who, in addition to their qualifications, have the necessary mental and psychological strength to cope with pressure, tight deadlines, and complex client demands.

If you are hiring someone to do a job which is repetitive in its nature, you will need to determine whether the candidate will need to be able to stay motivated, even if they are required to perform the same actions over and over again. If an employee is going to burn out quickly under stress, despite having a brilliant CV, then they are probably not a good fit for the job.

5. Consider culture fit

Another important thing to consider when hiring a candidate is their ability to fit in and adapt to your company’s culture. This means their social skills need to be developed enough, so they don’t disrupt the positive atmosphere in the office. Ideally, they should only add to it. Since nearly every job involves working with other people, as well as communicating with clients, you’re going to want to hire a person with strong social skills.

Check their work history and through your interview questions make sure they aren’t prone to conflicts in the workplace. Then if possible, find out how they got along with their former colleagues and bosses when you conduct reference checks. That should help you paint a complete picture of every candidate you interview.

6. Keep improving your hiring process

Potential candidates are not the only thing you should focus on if you want to hire the best person for the job. You need to work on your recruitment process and make constant changes and tweaks to it until you get it right. For instance, some companies have their recruiters asking magic bullet questions, whose purpose is to catch the candidates off guard and test their analytical skills.

A more efficient method would be to focus on obtaining relevant information about your potential employees, such as their qualifications, knowledge, experience, social skills, as well as their ability to learn and develop. Also, it is up to you to attract the right candidates by making all of the job requirements as clear as possible. Another good idea would be to get other people involved in the hiring process.

7. Consider bringing on an intern

Depending on the size of your company, you may want to engage an intern as an interim solution. This is one of the best ways to find the best candidate for the job. After monitoring their progress, you will know everything about them: their intelligence, skills, ability to cope with stress, social skills, and weaknesses. In fact, you will get to know them much better than any candidates you just interview.

And if you do decide to hire interns, don’t just have them run errands for you. Give them some actual work, so that you can gauge their abilities and prepare them for actual work, in case you decide to hire them. Plus, you will save plenty of time by hiring someone you already have in your company, instead of going through an extensive hiring process.

8. Run social checks

While it pays to get to know your potential employee as a person, asking personal question is not the best solution, because they may feel uncomfortable (not to mention the fact that it may be deemed as anti-discriminatory). However, what you can do is check out their social media presence across all major platforms.

Visiting someone’s Facebook or Instagram page will help you learn more about the candidate, and their LinkedIn profile may offer a better insight into their skills and experience than their resume. In addition to that, LinkedIn can also be a great place to find new employees, and invite them for a job interview.

As you can see, finding the best possible candidate is a complex and time-consuming process, but it’s well-worth the trouble and something which will pay dividends in the future. The right candidate is definitely out there.